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"Never wish life were easier, wish that you were better." — Jim Rohn
There are many benefits to networking. Whether you live abroad or you live in Canada; or whether you are looking for a job, or to start or grow your own business, or just looking to broaden your perspective, the benefits are the same across the board. But today I will share just five with you. They are: connection, collaboration and confidence; opportunities; mentorship; savings; and influence and impact.
Connection, Collaboration, Confidence (C³)
Considering your starting point or biggest hurdle is that you don't know enough people, the first benefit is that you are able to connect and collaborate with people from all over the globe—near and far. This leads to broader perspective and base. In doing so, you automatically boost your confidence. Professional networking forces you to talk to people you wouldn't normally talk to in an articulated and meaningful way. Especially the offline ones. This helps you build better communication, listening and negotiation skills and facilitate your understanding of a new or second language. It also boosts your interpersonal skills in the way you interact with others; resulting in enhanced self-confidence and self-esteem by engaging with professionals and adopting or modelling good behaviour.Offers Opportunities
Think about it, you are limited only as far as your reach. The more people you are connected to the more opportunities are at your disposal—both in life and career. In a world full of nepotism, favouritism, and racism, how often have you experience or heard of someone who is super qualified for a position but didn't get it because someone less qualified knew somebody who knew somebody up the chain of command? People prefer to partner with people they know and like. So once you are connected and you make yourself likeable, you are in for a rude awakening. According to an article in the New York Times, people of colour and ethnic origin needs to be more proactive in networking especially when it comes to employment, due to the three afore-mentioned coverts.Mentorship
Honestly speaking, I have gotten more free advice and mentoring from my network than I could afford to pay for. Networking puts you in front of highly qualified professionals in their field with just the right message and mentoring that you need. But bear in mind that networking is a two-way street. You have to be ready and willing to give back and share your expertise when called upon to do so. The point though is, once you are connected to the right people, online or offline, you are in luck! Follow industry forums and channels and read all the way through to the comments; because as a true testament, that is where the real mentorship begins.Savings
A good network is better than pocket money. With a good pool of people in your personal and professional network, you will always have a friendly face or a helping hand right at your fingertips. When you maintain a good relationship with the people you meet and give back to others, others will give back to you. Value your network and save yourself stress, energy, and money. Check out the book "Your Network Is Your Net Worth: Unlock the Hidden Power of Connections for Wealth, Success, and Happiness in the Digital Age", by Porter Gale.Influence and Impact (I²)
According to Jim Rohn, "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with." We all have, at the very least, an empirical experience of this. You literally become like those you hang around the most. My old folks would say, "Show me your company and I'll tell you who you are." Before you realize it, you have adopted their habits and attitude. If you consistently hang around people with undesirable traits and outlook on life, they will influence you. If you consistently hang around people with desirable traits, and a positive, open, and uplifting outlook on life, they will make those impact on you eventually, by providing good modelling and mentoring. It is scientifically proven that modelling successful people and good behaviour will improve your station in life drastically. |
| 5 Benefits of Strategic Networking Cycle - Credit: author |
In summary, it is imperative to find like-minded people, with a good heart, and who are compatible with your ideals, inspiration and interests to tap into the vast ocean of opportunities and mentoring. In doing so, you will boost your confidence and save yourself a lot of stress, energy and money just by being impacted and influenced by the right people. Stay connected!
Until Next time,
Be Blessed. Be Bold. Be Strong. Be You!
-AggieStrong
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Andrene Gregory is a life coach at Aggie Strong Ultimate Life Coaching Services. You can follow her on Instagram, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn for more tidbits of information and learn more about her.
She provides one-to-one coaching and group workshops to adults seeking to improve their life skills, lifestyle and leadership capabilities for greater confidence and work-life balance.
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